The Open 2009: Stewart Cink beats Tom Watson in play-off to win 138th Open - Telegraph The Open The Open 2009: Stewart Cink beats Tom Watson in play-off to win 138th Open Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in a play-off to win the 138th Open at Turnberry and complete his maiden major victory. Image 1 of 2 To the victor the spoils: Stewart Cink lifts the Claret Jug after winning The Open at Turnberry in a play-off with Tom Watson Photo: PA Image 1 of 2 Stewart Cinks it: 36-year-old outsider Stewart Cink defied the odds to win his first major Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Mark Reason 8:39PM BST 19 Jul 2009 Like the giant ogre in a children's scare story Cink stomped all over this Open Championship and crushed our dreams. The big American beat the heroic Watson in a play-off on a day when three different Englishmen had led at various times in the afternoon. Poor Cink, a more than decent American golfer, has just become the biggest villain in Open history.

When Tom Watson walked up the final hole needing just a par for victory at the age of 59 maybe even Mrs Cink wanted him to succeed. It would have been the greatest achievement perhaps in all of sport. But our hopes of immortality dribbled past the edge of the hole when Watson wavered over his 10-foot victory putt. Cink had come to the final hole without much of a chance. A few times he had caught a glimpse of the claret jug and the glare had been too much for him. Birdies were followed by bogeys. But when the pressure seemed off the 36-year-old caught a decent bounce up onto the final green and then holed the putt for birdie. Someone should dig up that bit of Scottish land that was the difference between the most romantic victory of all time and another journeyman American scooping a major. Watson hit two beautiful shots down the 18th, but a hard bounce sent his ball skidding over the green and he was unable to get it up and down. As the winner of five Opens Watson knows better than anyone that seaside golf can often depend on a bounce either way.

It is the ability to take misfortune as your due that separates the great links golfers from the rest. With this performance Watson must surely now be considered the greatest of them all. Related Articles Old Tom's story too good to be true 20 Jul 2009 Everyone wanted to see the play-off - even Justin Leonard was on the sidelines in his shades - but it turned out to be a desperate anti-climax. Cink got up and down from a bunker on the first of the four holes to take a one-shot lead and then tiredness seemed to smother Tom. Watson's game fell away and the man in green, the Shrek of Turnberry, gobbled him up like a small child. There was an awful Cink-ing feeling. Give Cink his due, he deserves his victory because in the end he took fewer shots. That is golf. Cink hugged his wife and sons on the edge of the final green, but his dream has always been to win the US Open. He once said: "It's the Championship of the greatest nation on this earth," but he was a younger and more foolish man back then.

Cink becomes the ninth different American to win the Open since 1995 but he wasn't the one we all wanted. And don't let ignorant people tell you that Watson's display this week proves that golf is just a game. Don't let them tell you that a 59-year-old would not be able to compete in a real 'athletic' sport. These are people who have never swung a golf club or tried to hole a four-footer when your whole soul wants nothing more. They do not understand how many different skills golf tests. They do not understand that golf is perhaps the most public test of a man's heart. They do not understand how easy it is to fray. Watson understands all those things and it makes his performance this week all the more remarkable. He called Tiger Woods's 15 stroke victory at the 2000 US Open the most extraordinary performance in the history of golf. That's the cold-eyed realist in him. My preference is for Tiger winning on a broken leg last year. But does Tom's performance this week top them all. No, finishing second is never enough, however fantastic it may be.

Watson said earlier this week that his greatest golfing disappointment was losing at Turnberry in 1994. This loss will certainly exceed it. In so many ways the final day of this Open was as brutal as it was fabulous. Little by little the frailties of each man were exposed as if they were stretched out on the rocks of the Ayrshire coast for the birds and the crabs to nibble at. So many men led the Open on the final day and so many were not quite good enough. There is no disgrace in a man finding out about himself and Ross Fisher discovered that he was not yet up to it. On Sunday the 28-year-old Englishman fell apart on the 5th hole. He hit a poor tee shot and then hacked about in the long grass with increasing desperation. So many Englishmen had a chance to win this Open. At one point in the afternoon Chris Wood had worked his way into a share of the lead and the 21-year-old looks a future winner. Lee Westwood was in control of the Championship for longer than anyone on the final day. Strangely it was not Westwood's putting that failed him, as we had feared, but his long game.

Yes, he 3-putted the final green from distance, but he had sprayed too many shots before that. But all of the Englishmen who put themselves in contention should ignore some of the cries of 'choke' and know that they can win one day. Watson was once known as the biggest choker of them all. On Sunday he handed on that title to every spectator in the grandstand. We fought back the tears like mourners at a funeral. But what a ride Tom took us all on. Cink is the champion golfer of the year, but Watson is the champion man. The Open Championship 2009 on The Ailsa at Turnberry Resort, Scotland The Playoff - The Open Championship 2009 Almost as thrilled to see his nameplate screwed onto the door of one of the four luxury suites at the Turnberry Resort as he was to have his name engraved on the Claret Jug, Stewart Cink remembers his victory over Tom Watson in the 2009 staging of The Open Championship over The Ailsa links as the ultimate destination on a lifelong journey to glory.

A modest, towering American - this gentle giant from Georgia tips 6ft 4ins - with a competitive streak honed by five appearances in the Ryder Cup, Cink threw a combination of punches at Watson during the final round of the game's most revered championship which eventually forced the old heavyweight of the British linksland onto the ropes. Out in 35 blows, the 36-year-old made four birdies on the inward half, including a 16 foot putt for 3 on the last, to sign off with an impressive score of 69. After Watson missed an eight foot putt for par on the 72nd hole needed to collect his sixth Open title - both players had posted totals of 278 strokes - Cink dominated the four hole play-off. By that stage of what had been an astonishing tournament it seemed as if the air had finally expired from the veteran's lungs as he shot bogey, par, double bogey and bogey. Cink, with youth on his side and a calm intake of breath, made par, par, birdie and birdie to win the showdown by six strokes.

Cink knew he had spoiled the ending most onlookers wanted but had no need to feel any pity for Watson after pre-empting what would have one of the great sporting fairytales that day in Ayrshire. After all, the Kansas golfer's name is inscribed on the Claret Jug five times while Cink's moniker appears on the trophy only once. He was able to shrug off any mixed feelings about defeating the then 59-year-old in a play-off by harnessing any sense of conflict to clear his mind and collect his first major title. "It just doesn't get any more satisfying than this," Cink reflected. "After all the changes I've made, with the Claret Jug in my hands, I guess this transformation is now complete. The journey is not over, but I'm a believer now." Having joined the professional ranks in 1997, Cink was the first golfer to follow up success as the Nationwide Tour's player of the year with the PGA Tour's rookie of the year award 12 months later. "At first I had plenty of confidence when I came onto the Tour," he recalled. "I was young and I was eager.

But over the years you play golf against the best players in the world and there is a lot more failure than there is success. So a little bit of doubt started to creep in. "I started setting standards for myself that weren't really achievable. So I got a little down on myself and I had to work through it. I've always had a good foundation away from the course to weather the storms as they come and go. I had some really good years from about 2004 until 2008 and then came the Open championship win in 2009. That was a really big arrival point for me, where all the time and sacrifices that I had made, became worth it." As for Watson, four of his five Open titles were secured on Scottish turf at Carnoustie, Turnberry, Muirfield and Royal Troon - he also won in England at Royal Birkdale - and an enduring relationship with the game's spiritual home began with an Open baptism in 1975 when he followed in the footsteps of Ben Hogan by winning at Carnoustie on his debut after a play-off against Jack Newton.

While the victories which followed in 1980, 1982 and 1983 would earn pride of place in any other Open story, nothing captures the essence of Watson's relationship with the oldest major quite like the Duel In The Sun, his astonishing win over Jack Nicklaus on the Ailsa during the summer of 1977 . Perhaps the 2009 staging of the championship would have been another Open for the ages if only Watson had made par at the last and emerged as not only the oldest winner in major history but also the most romantic champion in any sport. Yet, as is so often the case on the linksland, fate was dictated by the fickle bounce of the ancient turf. While there hadn't been a hint of tightness on the 18th tee as Watson located another fairway, the veteran chose to strike an 8 iron rather than a 9 for the approach and the shot ran through the back of the green. "That 8 iron will always live with me, " he rued. Watson duly chose to putt from the fringe and knocked the ball eight feet past the cup before coming up shy with the second. The outcome was sealed by that cruel bogey.

Cink, meanwhile, could look back on a roller-coaster of a closing inward half of 34 which included only two pars. The highlights on the back nine were a brace of 2s at the par 3s thanks to a 25 foot putt at the 11th and a six footer following an 8 iron to the 15th green. Unlike Watson, Cink chose a 9 iron rather than an 8 for his approach to the last and reaped the reward. "I just felt so calm in a situation where previously I would be extremely nervous," he said. "I was totally at peace with whatever happened." All this time later, perhaps now it's a little easier to think of the 138th staging of The Open as Cink's championship rather than Watson's. After all, like the suite at the Turnberry Resort , it's got his name on it. 2017 Copyright SLC Turnberry Limited.

All rights reserved Stewart Cink sinks Tom Watson to win Open in a play-off | Sport | The Guardian Stewart Cink sinks Tom Watson to win Open in a play-off • Missed putt at last costs 59-year-old the title • Lee Westwood also misses out at the last Stewart Cink holds the Claret Jug after his play-off victory over Tom Watson at Turnberry. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Sunday 19 July 2009 16.20 EDT First published on Sunday 19 July 2009 16.20 EDT Close This article is 7 years old On a day of poetry, prose had the final word when the US Ryder Cup player Stewart Cink edged out the US legend Tom Watson in a play-off to win the 2009 Open Championship. It was a victory for reality over fantasy or, to put it another way, it was a crushing disappointment for those who prefer their sporting occasions steeped in romance. "It would have been a hell of a story, a wonderful story. But it wasn't to be and it tears at your gut just like it always has," the runner-up said.

"Hey, it's not a funeral." Maybe not, but it sure as hell felt like it. Of course hearty congratulations went to the winner, but the heart itself went out to the man who came up short. Poor, poor Watson, who has never asked for anyone's sympathy but who will have it pressed upon him for ever more. The 59-year-old, bidding to become the oldest man to win a major championship, stood on the 72nd green of regulation play facing an eight-foot putt to tear up the history books. Alas he saved his worst shot of the week for that tumultuous moment, dribbling his effort short and right of the cup. That dropped him into a four-hole play-off against a man 23 years younger and a whole lot fitter. Those who feared the worst for Watson quickly had their fears confirmed as he failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker at the 5th and fell a shot behind. A lovely par putt on the 6th shored up his hopes but a weary drive on the 17th, followed by a couple of hacks out of the rough and a double bogey, laid them to rest. Cink now had a four-shot advantage.

Formality demanded that the pair play the 18th hole but by then the engraver was already at work, although pedants might care to note that the new champion hit a superb approach shot, leaving his ball just a couple of feet from the cup. He made a birdie, doffed his cap to the galleries and embraced the man he had just vanquished. It was a first major victory for Cink, who has been knocking around the upper echelons of the game for a few years now. A great player, he is also a good guy, as he showed afterwards in accepting that while his was a great personal triumph, it was also something of a letdown for those looking on, willing Watson to conclude his incredible journey. "I have been the underdog before, the guy that no one is rooting for, and that is OK," he said, with a smile. "Maybe that will change now." Maybe it will as thoughts of Watson's disappointment fade, to be replaced by memories of a wonderful performance. The American, who had won five Opens, the last at Royal Birkdale in 1983, started the week as a 1,500–1 outsider.

He was tied for second after day one and led at the end of days two and three. Even then, there were doubts that he would hold up during yesterday's final round; doubts that did not diminish when he made bogey at two of his opening three holes. Behind him hopes surged and fell like the sea beyond. When the day began there were 26 players within six shots of the leader, all entitled to believe they could win, and that number had increased by lunchtime as Turnberry's true character began to exert itself. Ernie Els and Justin Leonard, who started almost three hours ahead of the leaders, came from nowhere to finish in a tie for eighth. The South African and the American are former winners of this championship so it was hardly a surprise. The same could not be said of young Chris Wood, a nascent professional whose main claim to fame was his effort as an amateur in last year's Open at Birkdale, where he finished fifth. Since then he has carved out a nice run on the European Tour but it is one thing to knock off a top-10 at the South African Open, quite another to make a serious charge at golf's greatest prize.

Expectations, especially the lack of them, can often be a golfer's best friend and the 22-year-old Englishman certainly had that in his favour. He clearly has a flair for this style of golf, too, nursing his ball around the front nine in 32 shots – better than anyone else. A birdie at the 10th fixed his place inside the top 10 and his position rose as the afternoon progressed. In the end he tied for third. For that he could thank the likes of Ross Fisher, who briefly held a three-shot lead before running up a quadruple bogey on the 5th, and Jim Furyk, the fancied American who made bogey at two of his first three holes. Eventually, the competition was distilled into its purest form. As always on such occasions the lead, and the pressure that comes with it, was passed around with alarming regularity as Watson, then Fisher, then Watson, then Lee Westwood, then Mathew Goggin and, finally, Cink, all glimpsed glory. Of those, Westwood was in first place for the longest period, assuming the mantle when he holed a 20-footer on the 7th hole for an eagle.

The Englishman has mined a wonderful seam of form in recent weeks and he did it again for almost the entirety of his round yesterday. Only as the end approached did he falter, dropping shots at the 15th and 16th. Even then the Englishman would have won the tournament with a birdie on the last. Instead, he made a three-putt bogey. What a contrast with Cink, who had moments before rolled in a 20-footer for birdie and a place in the play-off. "That was the most crucial putt of my life," he said, cradling the Claret Jug. A major understatement from the new major champion.

Cink beats Watson in Open play-off | The Week UK Cink beats Watson in Open play-off Jul 20, 2009 The American ruins a fairy tale ending by beating his compatriot Tom Watson on a four-hole play-off at Turnberry to lift the Claret Jug email American golfer Stewart Cink defeated his compatriot Tom Watson in a four-hole play-off at the end of the Open Championship at Turnberry yesterday to get his hands on the famous Claret Jug after the pair had finished the regulation 72 holes tied on two-under par. The 59-year-old Watson had previously won five Opens, including one of this course before, was 1,500-1 to win the tournament at the beginning of the week and would have sealed a victory had he holed for par at the 18th hole, but his putt was short. Home interest was maintained by Englishmen Chris Wood and Lee Westwood, who finished tied in joint third on one-under par, Westwood having had the chance to join the play-off when he took three putts for a bogey on the last hole.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING Lawrence Donegan, the Guardian: "On a day of poetry, prose had the final word when the US Ryder Cup player Stewart Cink edged out the US legend Tom Watson in a play-off to win the 2009 Open Championship. It was a victory for reality over fantasy or, to put it another way, it was a crushing disappointment for those who prefer their sporting occasions steeped in romance. 'It would have been a hell of a story, a wonderful story. But it wasn't to be and it tears at your gut just like it always has,' the runner-up said. 'Hey, it's not a funeral.' Maybe not, but it sure as hell felt like it. Of course hearty congratulations went to the winner, but the heart itself went out to the man who came up short." Lynn Truss, the Times: "What a ghastly ending - and I say this as someone who has been tipping Cink for two or three years now. So if anyone should be happy to see this tall Alabaman (ranked 33 in the world) declared Open champion, it’s me. Watching Cink demolish Watson in the play-off was about as pleasant as watching the systematic murder of kittens.

No, this was Watson’s Open and I can’t tell you how well prepared I was for him to win it. At my fingers’ ends I had statistics about long-ago chaps such as 'Old' Tom Morris (all of 46 years old when he won in 1867), statistics about the longest previous gap between victories (set by Sir Henry Cotton when he won in 1948, after 11 years)." Nick Pearce, Daily Telegraph: "Like the giant ogre in a children's scare story Cink stomped all over this Open Championship and crushed our dreams. The big American beat the heroic Watson in a play-off on a day when three different Englishmen had led at various times in the afternoon. Poor Cink, a more than decent American golfer, has just become the biggest villain in Open history. When Tom Watson walked up the final hole needing just a par for victory at the age of 59 maybe even Mrs Cink wanted him to succeed. It would have been the greatest achievement perhaps in all of sport.

But our hopes of immortality dribbled past the edge of the hole when Watson wavered over his 10-foot victory putt." Sign up for our daily newsletter Newsletter The Open 2009: Tom Watson's tilt at Open was stuff of legend - Telegraph The Open The Open 2009: Tom Watson's tilt at Open was stuff of legend It was bound to happen. When a man with an artificial hip and in his 60th year came within a couple of inches of winning his sport's greatest prize, it was inevitably going to reheat old questions from those who have always enjoyed knocking the credibility of that sport. Eyes on the prize: Open winner Stewart Cink (left) is congratulated by Tom Watson Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Ian Chadband, Chief Sports Correspondent 11:47PM BST 20 Jul 2009 So what did Tom Watson's heroics in just missing out on a sixth Open title at Turnberry on Sunday say about the state of modern day golf? Was old Major Tom's Golf Oddity just a wonderful, freak happening, a one-off treasure to be stored and cherished long after normal tour service was quickly resumed?

Or did it severely embarrass a game in which, once you take Tiger Woods out of the equation, the world's top performers are so browbeaten that they can now barely beat a bloke who was in his prime as a golfer before some of them were even born? The 'is it even a sport at all?' brigade were granted their field day. But on Monday golf fought back. The sport's leading officials were clearly ready for the backlash when asked if Watson's achievement might even prompt Olympic bosses to reassess golf's athletic credentials in light of its major push to be included in the 2016 Games. Related Articles Watson - an incredible journey 20 Jul 2009 "As far as how would the International Olympic Committee executive board view an older person winning a golf championship, I could only think that with their policies of inclusiveness and sport for all, that would have been welcomed," responded Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R & A. "I don't see that as anything other than strengthening our case." He is probably right. Frankly, there ought not to be a place for a sport where a Claret Jug or green jacket, and not an Olympic gold, is the pinnacle of achievement.

However, the IOC does love inclusive sports. Last year, in Beijing, it hailed the charge of the oldies too, like Dara Torres, still the fastest swimmer in America at 42, and Jeannie Longo, a 50-year-old cycling legend who has just won her 56th national title. Of course, golf is different. Nobody is pretending Mark Spitz at 59 is now going to splash into the pool and beat Michael Phelps. Ian Botham couldn't win the Ashes back and Bjorn Borg his Wimbledon crown at 53, the age at which Greg Norman was contending for last year's Open. But isn't that golf's everyman allure? When asked what his achievement said about the sport, Watson responded: "I think it's very clear. It means the game of golf is long lived. You play this game for a lifetime." And give us some of the memories of a lifetime too. What could have been more life-affirming than Watson's adventure? Nine months ago, he was hobbling with a cane after the replacement hip operation, which basically put him out of his misery after years of trying painfully to keep playing the game that few had ever played better.

'Every 60 year-old will walk taller and straighter today thanks to Tom,' was the message from the US media. Watson was a complete inspiration. "He showed not only how great a golfer he is," said his gracious conqueror Stewart Cink. "He also showed how great a game we all play." What a shame then that the R & A's age-60 restriction rule for former champions – it was changed from 65 to 60 two years ago – means that Watson's appearance at St Andrews next year, his 33rd, will be in all probability be his last. "We brought down the age limit to give more spaces in the championship to younger players allegedly in their prime to compete," Dawson said. "I don't think we contemplated a 59 year-old leading the Open Championship going into the back nine on the final day at the time, and every year after the Open we look at the exemptions, and no doubt we'll look at this one." The other majors all have the flexibility to offer special invitations but Dawson made it clear the R & A had no plans for similar one-offs.

Yet surely after this, the R&A could make an exception for Watson, who improved his world ranking an incredible 1,269 places – from 1,374th to 105th. Justin Rose, echoing the respect and affection the younger players feel for the self-styled "old geezer" who gave them a lesson, noted: "In my opinion, the greatest links player of all time deserves to play the Open Championship for as long as he wants." Hear, hear. A special lifetime exemption would be the most fitting reward for the man who would not abuse the honour, who would know when it was time to walk off into the Scottish sunset. That moment, thankfully, has not arrived yet. Doesn't Tom Watson Know How Old He Is? | Bleacher Report Doesn't Tom Watson Know How Old He Is? Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) 783 12 Comments Evidently the only person at the British Open (referred to as the Open Championship in England) who doesn’t know that Tom Watson is nearly 60-years-old is Watson himself.

Playing against a field of golfers in which many are half his age, Watson enters the final round of golf’s oldest championship with a one-stroke lead. Now there was a time when Tom Watson leading after 54-holes of the British Open surprised no one. After all, the only player with more Open Championships than the American is Harry Vardon, who last won the title in 1916. However, just in case you weren’t sure, this is 2009, not 1977 or 1983. Watson is no longer the young golfer who won his first major championship at age 25 and all eight of his major championships before turning 34. Instead, with his remarkable performance at Turnberry, Watson is the oldest golfer ever to hold a 54-hole lead at a major championship. To put into perspective just how incredible Watson’s run is, the oldest golfer to win a major championship was Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48. If Watson is able to ride the wave through all the way to the title, he will beat that mark by more than a decade.

There have been other golfers of similar age to Watson to flirt with a major title, but none have been able to close the deal. Sam Snead shot a final round 68 at the 1974 PGA Championships to finish tied for third, three strokes behind Lee Trevino, at 62-years of age. Jack Nicklaus was 58 when he used a final round 68 to tie for sixth position (four strokes behind champion Mark O’Meara) at the 1998 Masters. And just last year, 53-year old Greg Norman led the Open Championship by two strokes after 54 holes before finishing tied for third. But what makes Watson's run particularly impressive, and perhaps gives him a chance to hold on for victory, is that he isn't simply surviving against brutal conditions or making a late tournament charge. Instead, he has been in contention from the very beginning and so far has responded to every challenge and overcome every potential pitfall. Following an opening round 65 that left him just one stroke out of the lead, it looked like Watson was making the kind of fade from contention expected of a 59-year old.

He birdied the first hole of his second round to take the lead, but then had five bogeys in the next six holes to fall down the leaderboard. At the same time, Tiger Woods , the current number one player in the world seemed to be recovering from a tough start and headed to his rightful place near the top of the standings. However, a curious thing happened on the way to normalcy. Woods suddenly ran into a six-hole stretch where he went seven over par and ultimately missed the cut. Conversely, Watson seemed to suddenly find the kind of magic he had displayed at Turnberry 32 years earlier when he registered back-to-back rounds of 65 to beat Nicklaus by one-stroke in the famous “Dual in the Sun.” He birdied four of the final 10 holes to shoot an even par 70 and finish the second round tied for the lead. Suddenly, the novelty of a 59-year old competing for a major championship was wearing off and the reality that no player left in the field has more championship success than Watson started to set in. For much of the third round, Watson looked like an eight-time major champion.

Making putt after putt, he maintained the lead while others around him started to implode. Through eight holes, Watson was even for the day and continued to maintain his lead. After a bogey on the ninth hole, Watson finally began to reveal some mortality as he missed relatively short putts and dropped strokes at the 12th and 15th holes to fall out of the lead for the first time on the day. Then, for the second straight day, Watson seemed to channel his past glory and remember that he was playing for a record-tying sixth Open Championship. He birdied the 16th hole and then got a very fortuitous bounce on his second shot at the par-five 17th that led to an eagle putt that just missed. He ended up with a second-straight birdie and a one-stroke lead. When you look at the leaderboard heading into the final round, there is no Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson , but there are a number of very talented golfers and former major champions that are poised to challenge Watson’s date with destiny. Neither of the two players tied for second, Mathew Goggin and Ross Fisher, have ever won a major championship.

While Fisher finished fifth at the 2009 U.S. Open, Goggin has never finished better than 36th in a major tournament. Among the others in the top 10, there are three former major champions, Retief Goosen (tied for 4th, two strokes back), Jim Furyk (tied for 6th, three strokes back) and 2009 Master’s Champion Angel Cabrera (tied for 10th, five strokes back). Also in contention are two players, Stewart Cink and Lee Westwood, who have both been close in majors, but never been able to pull out the victory. It seems quite improbable that a 59-year old (he will turn 60 in September) who last made the cut at a major championship in 2006 and hasn’t been in the top 10 at a major since 2000 could actually beat all the other great golfers in the world over a four-day tournament at one of the most challenging courses in the world. However, if it is ever going to happen it sure seems like Tom Watson is the guy to accomplish such an unimaginable feat.

He is the essence of a professional golfer: steady, calm and single-minded in his focus. As has been said more than once during the championship, even at 59-years of age, Watson doesn’t play the majors to be the ceremonial hand waver. He plays the majors in 2009 for the same reason he played in them 30 years ago, to win. Sunday he will get his chance and you won’t want to miss it. Check out Dean Hybl's sports blog: Sports Then and Now , to read about more great athletes and moments in sports history. Golf Quotes from Golf Today - The Open Championship The Open Championship The courses, the champions, the shots, the emotions of the oldest major championship Only Opens. - Tom Watson (when asked if he collected anything Scottish for luck) Hey, this ain't a funeral, you know. - Tom Watson (as solemn journalists entered the interview room after he missed an 8 foot putt to win the 2009 Open at Turnberry at the age of 59, before losing to Stewart Cink in a playoff) The rule says something about intent when you do that. I intended to hit it.

- Hale Irwin (on calling a penalty on himself after completely missing a 2-inch putt on the 14th hole in the third round of the 1983 Open at Royal Birkdale, eventually losing to Tom Watson by one shot) At 15 we put down my bag to hunt for a ball, found the ball, lost the bag. - Lee Trevino (during the 1971 Open at Royal Birkdale) I'm a serious contender this week. How can they beat me? I've been struck by lightning, had two back operations and been divorced twice. - Lee Trevino (at Royal Birkdale for the 1983 Open; he didn't win, and Tom Wartson did) Not true. I slept on the floor. - Fred Couples (on being asked if it was true he had slept in the bath because his hotel bed was too soft, during the 1991 Open at Royal Birkdale) You think I play the hole the wrong way?

- Severiano Ballesteros (on being asked why he used a four-iron off one tee instead of the driver, and then holed a 40 foot putt for a birdie during the 1991 Open at Royal Birkdale) It is doubtful that there was a man present at Birkdale who wanted Palmer to lose. It's impossible to overpraise the tact and charm with which this American has conducted himself on his two visits to Britain. He has no fancy airs or graces; he wears no fancy clothes; he makes no fancy speeches. He simply says and does exactly the right thing at the right time, and that is enough. - Henry Longhurst (at the 1961 Open at Royal Birkdale) I had to lean sideways to see the top of the flag. - Gary Player (on his superb three-wood approach to the 14th at Carnoustie en route to winning the 1968 Open) The rough is impossible - impossible to stay out of, impossible to play out of. But I guess I'd rather be in it 40 yards ahead of everybody else.

- Jack Nicklaus (at Carnoustie, during the 1968 Open) But the bottom line is, no matter what, even if I shoot 90 tomorrow, I'm going to enjoy it. Maybe people will say "Oh, he blew it" or whatever. Maybe I'm going to blow it, it's the first time I've ever been there. What do you expect? You know I'm not number one in the world. My knees are going to touch each other on the first tee tomorrow. But let me tell you, I'm going to enjoy it. - Jean Van de Velde (on the eve of the final round of the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. He had a three shot lead coming to the 18th, took seven, and then lost the Open in a playoff) I held the putter in a vice-like grip and from the moment I took it back from the ball I was blind and unconscious.

- Tommy Armour (on how he holed the putt which won him the 1931 Open at Carnoustie) Imagine him as he scrutinises a long, difficult stroke, with arms quietly folded, an inscrutable quarter smile on his lips, for all the world like a gambler watching the wheel spin. And then the cigarette is tossed away, the club taken with abrupt decision, the glorious swing flashes and a long iron pierces the wind like an arrow. - Pat Ward-Thomas (on Ben Hogan's 1953 Open victory at Carnoustie) I'm tired of giving my best and not having it be good enough. - Jack Nicklaus (after losing "The Duel in the Sun" to Tom Watson at Turnberry in the 1977 Open) It doesn't hurt much any more. These days I can go a full five minutes without thinking about it. - Doug Sanders (in 2000, thirty years after missing a two foot putt to win the Open at St. Andrews in 1970 - he went on to lose in a playoff to Jack Nicklaus) Golfing excellence goes hand and hand with alcohol, as many an Open and Amateur champion has shown.

- Henry Longhurst The British Open probably would have died if the American stars hadn't started going over to play in it more regularly the last 15 years. Arnold Palmer saved it, but as far as I'm concerned he didn't do us any favours. - Dave Hill Their only fault is that they give no possible excuse for a missed putt. - Bobby Jones (on the greens at Hoylake for the 1930 Open) How about that amigo. I just come over to see my friends and I win the bloody championship. - Roberto De Vicenzo (on winning the 1967 Open at Hoylake) They say I get into too many bunkers. But is no problem. I am the best bunker player. - Severiano Ballesteros (after winning the 1979 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) The winner, Severiano Ballesteros, chose not to use the course, but preferred his own, which mainly consisted of hay fields, car parks, grandstands, dropping zones and even ladies' clothing.

- Colin Maclaine (Chairman of the Championship Commitee, after Ballesteros' 1979 victory at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) When Ballesteros triumphed at the British Open in 1979, for his first major win, he hit so few fairways off the tee that he was often mistaken for a gallery marshall. - Dan Jenkins The hundred or so followers of the Royal and Ancient game who journeyed from Edinburgh on the morning of Thursday 22 September, the opening day, went prepared to have a thorough treat. - David Scott Duncan (of the first Muirfield Open in 1892) I can honestly say in my entire career, I've never gone around a golf course and not mis-hit a shot, but today I never missed a shot. I hit every driver perfect, every iron perfect. I'm in awe of myself. - Greg Norman (of his final round 64 in the 1993 Open at Royal St. George's) I never thought I'd live to see golf played so well. - Gene Sarazen (on Greg Norman's victory in the 1993 Open at Royal St.

George's) I guess that's why they call it Hell. - Jack Nicklaus (on taking four shots to get out of Hell Bunker during the first round of the 1995 Open at St. Andrews) He must have left a hole out. - Hale Irwin (on Seve Ballesteros shooting 16 for the last 5 holes at the 1979 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) Twice Open Champion Willie Park coined the slogan: "The man who can putt is a match for anyone." To which J.H. Taylor produced the response: "The man who can approach does not need to putt." - Michael Hobbs Do I have to know rules and all that crap? Then forget it. - John Daly (when asked whether he'd like to join the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, after winning the 1995 Open at St. Andrews) If you're going to be a player people will remember, you have to win the Open at St. Andrews. - Jack Nicklaus To me, the Open is the tournament I would come to if I had to leave a month before and swim over. - Lee Trevino Wind is part of the British Open.

It is an examination and it took me a long time to pass the examination. Eighty per cent of the fellows out there have not passed the test. - Gary Player (after winning the 1974 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) The only equivalent plunge from genius I could think of was Ernest Hemingway's tragic loss of ability to write. Hemingway got up one morning and shot himself. Nicklaus got up the next morning and shot 66. - Ian Wooldridge (on Nicklaus shooting 83 in the first round of the 1981 Open at Royal St. George's and following that up with a 66) All my life I wanted to play golf like Jack Nicklaus, and now I do. - Paul Harvey (journalist, after Nicklaus shot 83 at Royal St. George's in the 1981 Open) I played the British Open in 1937. It took a week to get there and a week to get home. I was the low American; finished fourth or fifth.

And what it came down to was, I lost a good part of my summer, won $185, and spent $1,000 on boat fare alone. - Byron Nelson What did I want with prestige? The British Open paid the winner $600 in American money. A man would have to be two hundred years old at that rate to retire from golf. - Sam Snead (on why he hesitated before going to St. Andrews for the 1946 Open; he won) Any golfer worth his salt has to cross the sea and try to win the British Open. - Jack Nicklaus I never felt I could be a complete professional without having won the British Open. It was something you had to do to complete your career. - Arnold Palmer They keep trying to give me the championship, but I won't take it. - Leo Diegel (on choking in the last round of the 1933 Open at St. Andrews) I give you one job to do and you can't even get that right.

- Ian Woosnam (to his caddie, Miles Byrne, after discovering he had 15 clubs in his bag and incurring a two-stroke penalty when leading the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) So now, if he could avoid the masses of bunkers on the eighteenth, he must surely be home. I saw the shot from just behind him and shall remember it to the end of my days. His swing never left him and this might have been on the practice ground. It might also have been fired from a rifle instead of a golf club - miles down the dead centre, veering neither to right nor left. - Henry Longhurst (on Tony Jacklin's drive at the final hole of the 1969 Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes) I lost my head. I lost everything. I try to cut the ball for it to stop quickly. But my hands - they don't go forward, they are coming back. - Costantino Rocca (on his fluffed chip on the 72nd hole of the 1995 Open at St. Andrews) The emotion is unbelievable.

After second shot at 18 - it blows my head. Then I hole putt. Give me another chance. The second putt - [in fact his first putt, after fluffing a chip - see above] nobody is supposed to hole that putt. - Costantino Rocca (making a 70 foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole of the 1995 Open at St. Andrews to tie John Daly; he lost in the playoff) Is winning the Open worth a million pounds? Well, it's worthwhile winning it - I would recommend it to anybody! - Sandy Lyle He's raised the bar to a level only he can reach. - Tom Watson (of Tiger Woods' victory in the 2000 Open at St. Andrews) Tom Watson Career Highlights | Golf.com © 2014 Ti Golf Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Tom Watson Career Highlights View Gallery Next Golf.com takes a look back at the career of eight-time major champion -- and World Golf Hall of Famer -- Tom Watson.

After growing up in Kansas City, Watson -- pictured here in 1969 -- went on to play collegiate golf at Stanford, where he was named a second team All-American in 1969, 1970 and 1971. Watson graduated from Stanford in 1971 with a degree in psychology. He turned pro later that year, wrapping an amateur career that included four straight Missouri Amateur titles. Watson with his first wife, Linda, after winning his first British Open at Carnoustie in 1975, where he beat Australian Jack Newton in an 18-hole playoff, 71-72. Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by two shots to win the 1977 Masters, his first of two green jackets. Later that summer, Watson once again took on Nicklaus in the 1977 British Open at Turnberry. The "Duel in the Sun" found Watson and Nicklaus 10 shots clear of the third place finisher. In the end, Watson birdied 17 and 18 to clip Jack by one, and claim his second Open title.

Watson was named player of the year six times, including four straight seasons between 1977 and 1980. He also won the honor in '82 and '84. At Muirfield in 1980, Watson won his third Open Championship, beating Lee Trevino by four. In 1981, Watson won his second Masters, beating Nicklaus (again), and Johnny Miller by two. Watson is one of sixteen golfers to win multiple Masters titles. Watson took on Nicklaus again in the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Watson birdied the last two holes to hold off the Golden Bear by two strokes. It was Watson's first and only U.S. Open. Watson's chip-in for birdie from deep rough at Pebble's par-3 17th remains one of golf's iconic shots. Watson won his fourth British Open at Royal Troon later that summer, edging Peter Oosterhuis and Nick Price by one stroke. The next year, he claimed his fifth British -- and eighth and final major -- at Royal Birkdale.

With five Open titles, Watson is tied for the second most all time, trailing only Harry Vardon's six. Watson with Jack Nicklaus at the 1981 Ryder Cup. Watson also played for the U.S. in 1977, 1983 and 1989, and served as U.S. captain in 1993. His teams went 4-1. Watson's last PGA Tour win came at age 48, when he won the 1998 Colonial. In his career, Watson tallied 39 wins between 1974 and 1998. In 2003, Watson returned to Turnberry, this time to win the first of his three Senior British Opens. In all, Watson has won six majors on the Champions Tour, and 14 tournaments in all. In 2009, at age 59, and less than a year after hip replacement surgery, Watson became the oldest player to lead a major during the British Open at Turnberry. Leading through 71 holes, he bogeyed the 18th to fall into a tie with Stewart Cink.

Watson eventually lost in a four-hole playoff. Watson, pictured here at St. Andrews in 2010, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988. His total of eight major championships (won in a span of nine years) ranks him sixth on golf's all-time list. Previous

Question: Which American golfer beat Tom Watson in a play-off to win the 2009 Open Golf championship at Turnberry?
Answer: STEWART CINK